Christmas Eve In A London Flat
by Failte
Summary: A fluffy little holiday companion piece to Unlikely Soulmates. Full of fluff and a wee bit of smut!


Hi all,

This is a little outtake from "Unlikely Soulmates", a fluffy little story about Tonks and Remus sharing their first Christmas Eve together.

Please keep in mind that it is rated MA for a reason. If you think you'll be offended, please don't read it.

Enjoy!  
Failte

* * *

Tonks snuggled closer to Remus and smiled softly. If someone had told her a couple of years ago that she would rather be sitting at home, curled up on the couch, listening to Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' rather than dining and dancing at the Ministry Christmas Party, she'd have told them they were insane. 

But here she was, sitting on her sofa, a fire burning in the fireplace, Christmas carols playing softly on the wireless while Remus read from his worn old copy of the Dickens' classic. She sat with her back against his side, her head lying against his shoulder. He had his arm around her, his hand resting on her still flat stomach where their child grew and she had both arms wrapped around his arm, hugging it to her.

She sighed.

Remus slowly shut the book and set it on the end table beside him. "Are you okay, Dora? You seem a bit…preoccupied."

"I'm fantastic," she replied, tilting her head back to look up at him. "And I am preoccupied."

"With what?"

"With many things."

"Are you sorry we're not at the Ministry party? We can still go if you'd like, we'd be fashionably late."

She giggled softly. "No, I don't want to go, I don't want to have to share you with anyone else tonight."

He smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Who would have ever thought," he began. "That I, Remus John Lupin, poor, old werewolf, would be sitting on a couch on Christmas Eve, holding my beautiful, pregnant wife?"

"I knew it."

Remus threw his head back and laughed. "Of course you did."

Tonks turned and sat up on her knees, facing him. "Darling, this is our first Christmas together and it's our two week wedding anniversary. Isn't it wonderful? Just think, this time, next year, we'll have a beautiful baby to share this with. I am so preoccupied with so many thoughts I don't know where to begin. We'll have to get a bigger tree next year."

He looked over at the tiny tree on the table top by the window. It was decorated with tiny sparkling stars he had strung all over it. "I don't know, I rather like our petite tree."

"So do I, but it won't be enough for our little one. His tree will have to be big and full and decorated with tinsel and balls and an ornament that says 'Baby's First Christmas'."

"Okay. What else?"

"I'm going to have Molly teach me how to bake so I can make cookies for next year."

He cringed. "Um, Dora, love, why don't you leave the cooking to me."

"I can cook."

Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, so I can't. But I can learn. You've taught me a few things."

"Yes, love, and you've come a long way but, well, uh…I love you."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. You can cook, but I'll decorate."

"Can you promise to not burn the place down?"

"It was a tiny fire and I had it completely under control."

Smiling, he ran his hand over her shoulder length red and green hair. "I'll make a deal with you, love, I'll do the cooking and the decorating and you can watch after the baby."

Tonks crawled closer to him and slid her arms around his neck. "I've been thinking, darling."

"Uh oh."

"Prat. No, I was thinking that now that Voldemort is gone, I would resign from being an auror."

"What? No, Dora, you love your work…"

She pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. "Yes, and I've enjoyed it. But I love you and our baby even more. It won't be safe. I already know they're going to put me behind a desk when I hit my fourth month. It would be irresponsible for me to work in a job that put my life in danger when I have a baby to think about. I'll find another job."

He scowled. The fact that Remus was unable to hold down a job due to his condition was a very sore subject with him. They both hoped that as word of Voldemort's demise spread and his followers captured, Remus would be recognized for all he did to help and be accepted by the wizarding community.

"Don't look like that," she whispered, kissing him gently. "Once you sell your manuscript, you'll make millions and then I'll stay home all day with my feet up eating pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs."

"Oh really?"

"Yup and we'll live in a house in the country with our litter of children and a dog."

"_Litter_ of children?"

"Yup, that is what I always imagined having with you, a litter of babies."

He chuckled softly and rested his forehead against hers. "Maybe two."

"Okay. Two children and a dog."

"Cat."

"Dog."

"Cat."

"Maybe Hagrid can find some dog-cat hybrid animal for us."

"Okay, we'll get a dog."

"And a cat."

Remus chuckled. "Fine, we'll get both. Anything else?"

"I've always wanted a pony."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"There is so much I still don't know about you."

"Know this," she said, lowering her voice as she shifted over and straddled his lap. "I love you, Remus Lupin."

He slid his hand up into her hair and cupped the back of her head. "I love you, Nymphadora Tonks Lupin." Remus pulled her close and captured her lips with his own.

She sighed against his mouth and fell against him, her fingers weaving through his hair, deepening the kiss.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the party?" He whispered when they broke apart.

"Absolutely," she replied, leaning over to press kisses down his throat. "Then I would have to share you with other people and watch you make small talk and sip champagne when all I want to do is shag you senseless."

He chuckled and tilted his head back to allow her better access. "But Molly and Arthur will be there."

She changed direction and kissed up the other side of his throat. "We'll see them at brunch tomorrow and then we're going to my parent's place for dinner. So tonight is our night to celebrate Christmas together, alone."

"And how do you plan to celebrate?"

Grinning, Tonks sat up, locking her hands behind his neck. "Presents!"

"What?"

"Let's exchange presents!"

"Don't you want to wait until tomorrow morning?"

"No."

Remus returned her smile. "I was hoping Father Christmas would bring you patience this year."

"Nope." She untangled herself from him and hurried over to where she had set a wrapped box under the table that held their tiny tree. "Here, this is for you."

He reached inside his robes and pulled a small wrapped package from his pocket.

"You were carrying my present with you?" She asked.

"Your mother told me how you like to unwrap presents, peek at them and then wrap them back up."

"I only did that once."

"Dora."

She sat beside him on the sofa. "Okay, once each Christmas."

He smirked. "You're going to be a bad influence on our baby, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"I'll be in charge of hiding presents for here on out."

"That's okay, I'll still find them, unless of course, you hide them all in your robes."

"I'll have to get bigger robes."

"You really will look like Father Christmas by then. Besides, I'll have a lot of fun digging through your robes." She set the box she held on his lap. "Open it."

"Yes, Ma'am." He smiled and handed her gift to her. "Do you want to go first?"

"No. You go first."

With deliberate care that he knew was driving her crazy, Remus slowly undid the tape at each end and carefully unfolded the paper.

"Come on, come on," she bounced up and down beside him. "Wrapping paper is meant to be torn."

"I want to savor this moment."

"What? Opening a present?"

"No. Torturing you."

"You're very good at it."

"I'm very good at many things," he flirted.

She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Yes, you are. Now open your damn present."

"You're going to be a mother now, Dora, you're going to have to stop swearing."

"No, I have to get it all out now before the baby comes. Dammit."

He laughed quietly as he folded the wrapping paper and set it aside. She squirmed beside him, fighting the urge to reach over and rip the box open for him.

He peeled back the tissue. "Oh, wow, Dora."

"It's not a first edition, but its pretty close," she said, feeling a little nervous. "My father knows a rare book seller and he was able to get his hands on it."

Remus felt emotion well up inside him. No one had ever given him a gift so thoughtful. It was a very old, near mint condition copy of his favorite Dickens' book, 'The Pickwick Papers'. He tried not to think about how much it had cost. As someone who had always had to watch every penny, it was difficult to accept such an obviously expensive gift.

"I know what you're thinking, but because he's my father's friend, I got it at a good price and I didn't break the bank. It was something I wanted to do for you, so take it and stop worrying about money."

He stopped slowly turning the pages and looked up at her, his face an eloquent picture of emotion and gratitude.

Tonks framed his face with her hands and kissed him. "Merry Christmas, love."

He cleared his throat. "Open yours."

With what seemed like barely a flick of the wrist, she had tossed aside the carefully wrapped paper. Beneath was a white jewelry box. Her heart pounding with excitement, she lifted the lid and gasped. "Oh Remus."

"I saw them and immediately thought of you."

Nestled on a bed of cotton was a pair of gold dangle earrings. From a single gold stud, fell six gold strands and at the bottom of each strand was a colored stone, red, green, blue, purple, yellow and orange.

"I figured they would match any color you changed your hair to."

She noticed the nervousness in his voice and raised her eyes to his. "They're beautiful, Remus, I love them. But they're so extravagant…"

"I have another gift for you," he interrupted her.

"What?"

"I finally got a response."

She closed her hands over the jewelry box and her eyes widened. "And?"

"And…I found a publisher who liked the first three chapters of my book. They gave me an advance and told me there would be more when it's published…"

He was cut off when Tonks threw herself at him, her arms around his neck and her lips pressed to his in an excited kiss. "When did you find out?"

"A couple of days ago."

"Why did you wait to tell me?"

He wrapped his arms around her. "I wanted to surprise you. Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I have to send him the rest of the book and this doesn't mean we're going to be rich or anything, but it's a step in the right direction."

"I told you so."

"You told me so what?"

"I told you we could make this work and we are."

Remus shifted so he was lying across the couch and she was sprawled on top of him. "You're right. I should never doubt you."

"Ever. Where's the letter?"

"What?"

"I want to see the letter from the publisher."

"It's in my case."

Tonks climbed off him and ran over to grab the battered old briefcase he carried with him. She jumped back onto the sofa and landed beside Remus, who was now sitting up.

"I want to see it," she said excitedly.

Smiling, he reached into an outer pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment, handing it to her.

She grabbed it eagerly, skimming her eyes over it. Giggling, she would read a line out loud here or there. "…'very impressed with your writing style'…'if the rest of the book is as good as the first three chapters, we'll have a bestseller on our hands'…'you have a new voice that will attract many readers'…" Tonks pressed the parchment to her chest and sighed. "This is incredible, Remus, I am so happy for you, I am so proud of you! We have to get this framed! We have to celebrate!"

"What do you have in mind?" He asked, running his hand up and down her arm.

"Champagne!"

"We have champagne?"

"Well, actually, its sparkling grape juice, but we can pretend." Tonks jumped up again and carefully propped his letter on top of the mantel. "A friend gave it to me when she heard I was pregnant. She said we should celebrate. I'll be right back."

Remus stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his hands behind his head while she hurried from the room. It took a few moments for her to dig it out of the cupboard, she had forgotten were it had been, and she found two clean, matching wine glasses.

"Want me to do that?" Remus asked as he watched her wrestle with the cork.

"No, I got it. I just need to…"

With a loud **_pop_** the cork flew across the room and hit a framed picture from their wedding day which crashed to the floor. Tonks stared at the shattered glass as juice exploded from the bottle and spilled over her hand, her arm, and her jumper.

"Dora?"

"What? Oh! Oh dammit!" She held the bottle away from her as the gusher died down. "Dammit! I can't even open a bottle of fake champagne!"

"Here." Remus stood, a smile playing at his lips as he took the bottle from her hand. "Go change your jumper and I'll clean this up."

"Fine," she sighed. "I am such a klutz, it'll be a miracle if I don't drop the baby."

He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, love, we'll cover him in padding so he'll bounce."

"Not helping, Remus," she mumbled, pulling the sweater over her head as she left the room.

"Tease!" He called after her, catching a glimpse of her shapely back.

Feeling mischievous, Tonks tossed the chunky green sweater she had been wearing into the hamper in the corner and dug out one of Remus' favorite tops. It was a fitted, bright red shirt with cap sleeves and a neckline that showed more cleavage than was ever necessary.

Stopping in front of the mirror that hung over the dresser, she turned sideways and studied her image. Tonks couldn't wait to start showing. She couldn't wait for the attention that came with being pregnant. Molly had tried to remind her of the swollen ankles, the back pain, hemorrhoids, the irritability, discomfort, and a hundred other not so fun symptoms of being pregnant. But Tonks was never one for being told about such things, she wanted to experience it all. Her breasts were tender and she had experienced some morning (and afternoon and evening) sickness, but it hadn't been too bad. So far, she was enjoying all that came with pregnancy.

Tugging the shirt down, she continued to examine her appearance. For the holiday, she had changed her hair to red and green corkscrew curls that fell to her shoulders and her eyes were a twinkling gold. It made her feel even more festive.

Remus had repaired and rehung the photo by the time she returned. The Tonks in the picture was grinning, her cheeks pink, as Remus laughed and hugged her close. The juice had been cleaned up and he had poured two glasses.

He let out a low whistle when he saw her. "You look pretty sexy, Dora, but aren't you going to be cold?"

She sat beside him and took the glass from his hand. "Then I guess you better warm me up."

Remus picked up the other the other glass and tapped it against hers. "To us."

"To us," she agreed. "And to our baby and the wonderful future we'll have together."

They both took a sip, their eyes locked over the rims of their glasses.

"Congratulations," she whispered. "I love you."

"Love you," he whispered back, leaning over to kiss her.

His lips had barely brushed hers when she jumped back at the feel of something cool and wet spreading down her front. Tonks jumped back and looked down to see Remus had accidentally spilled his juice down the front of her shirt.

"Oh, sorry."

She looked up and saw the grin on his face. "You did that on purpose."

"No, it was an accident. You might want to get that off, the juice is sticky."

"You know, darling," she said, gripping the hem of the shirt in her hands. "If you wanted to shag me, all you had to do was ask. I am your wife and I am more than happy to attend to my wifely duties." She pulled the top off and threw it across the room.

His eyes brightened as he skimmed them over her. "I want to shag you."

Biting her lip, Tonks unclasped Remus' robe and pushed it off his shoulders. Beneath it he wore an old oxford shirt and slacks. Her excited fingers moved down his chest, undoing the buttons. Finally giving in to impatience, she tore the shirt apart, sending buttons flying.

"If it is the last thing I do," he murmured, reaching around to unclasp her bra. "I am going to teach you some patience."

"Nope, never." She pushed him back and straddled his hips. "Merlin, I love you so much, Remus."

His hands slid up her back and forced her forward until she was lying on top of him, flesh meeting flesh. "I love you too, Dora."

She brushed her lips down his cheek, catching his earlobe in her teeth and tugging gently before moving on to gently suck on the spot just below his ear. He ran his hands over her back, feeling her skin warm to his touch. His fingers brushed the sides of her breasts. When she moaned against his neck, he moved more boldly and slipped his hands between them to massage her breasts.

"I love your touch," she hissed, grinding her pelvis against his, feeling him harden beneath her.

"Let's move into the bedroom."

"No." She lifted her head to look at him. "I want to make love to my husband on Christmas Eve in front of the fireplace."

"Such a romantic," he teased.

Wrapping his arms around her, Remus sat up, settling her on his lap. "Shall we get more comfortable?" He asked, leaning down to gently suck her nipple between his lips.

"I'm comfortable," she gasped, running her fingers through his hair and holding his mouth to her.

He kissed his way up her neck. "You taste like grape juice."

She giggled. "Make love to me, Remus."

He slowly got to his feet, his lips still skimming over her skin, and carried her to the spot on the carpet in front of the fireplace. With great care, he laid her down and stretched out beside her. Resting his hand on her stomach, he leaned over and kissed her.

Tonks slid her arm around his neck trying to draw him closer as she deepened the kiss, their tongues meeting in an intense dance. Her other hand traveled down to the front of his slacks where she ran her hand over his straining erection. He groaned against her mouth and his hips jerked forward at her touch. She stroked a little harder, knowing he enjoyed the friction caused by her hand rubbing the fabric over him.

Remus broke the kiss and smiled at her. "Not yet, love." He ran his hands down her sides and back up to cup and massage her breasts. "Just think," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her stomach. "Our baby is in there."

She ran her hand over his hair and smiled. "Yes, he is."

He brought his hands down to grip her waist as he rested his chin on her just above her bellybutton. "You think we're having a boy?"

She lifted her head and looked down at him. "Yeah, I do."

"A clumsy, impatient little boy with multicolored hair?"

"A smart, patient little boy with kind brown eyes and a sweet disposition."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Remus nuzzled her stomach with his nose before moving lower and unsnapping the fly on her jeans. Her scent invaded his nostrils as he breathed deep. She gasped and arched her back as he slipped a finger inside her knickers. Fueled by her response, he grabbed the waistband of her jeans and quickly peeled them off, throwing them across the room to join her discarded shirt. Dora moaned his name and gripped his hair as he kissed his way up the inside of her thigh, teasing her.

"Remus, _please_," she pleaded.

"Please what?" He asked, lifting his head.

"You know what," she growled.

Bringing an end to her torture, Remus nuzzled her center, using his lips and tongue to bring her to a quick, intense orgasm.

He rolled off her as she pressed a hand over her heart and tried to catch her breath.

Not yet sated, Tonks kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. She tugged at the zipper on his slacks and pushed them down past his hips. When he was as naked as her, Tonks took him in her hands and stroked, feeling him pulse in her hands as his hips jerked.

"Dora."

She looked up when he croaked her name. His eyes were closed and he bit his lip, obviously trying to keep his control. Not needing any other encouragement, Tonks held him in her hand and lowered herself onto him. Remus gasped as her wet warmth surrounded him and he slid deep inside her. Tonks moved slowly, savoring the feel of him inside her.

Remus rolled her over, lifting her leg to wrap around his waist and they both sighed as this angle found new ways to excite them both. She dragged her nails up and down his back, feeling his muscles move and bunch beneath her hands. Their lovemaking was slow and passionate, patient and intense. Dora was driven up to and over twice before Remus thrust a final time, emptying himself inside her.

Tonks wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he collapsed on top of her. After a few moments, Remus rolled over, taking her with him so she was sprawled on top of him, her head cradled against his shoulder.

Her eyes drifted shut, but when he made to move away, she tightened the arm she had wrapped around his stomach. "Don't go."

"I'm not going any where, I just want my wand."

She loosened her grip and waited for him to reach his wand and then settle back against her. With a couple flicks of his wand, they were cleaned up and the afghan on the back of the sofa flew over and covered the two of them.

Tonks slowly opened her eyes and lifted her head, looking down at him, the way the fire played across his face. "You're very handsome," she whispered, tracing his face with her fingertip.

He opened an eye. "You're hormonal."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are, it comes with pregnancy."

"I thought you were pretty hot before I was pregnant."

"So I went from pretty hot to handsome? What happened?"

"You're going to be a Daddy. Daddies can't be hot, they're handsome in a paternal kinda way."

He laughed. "But you're going to be a Mummy and I've always thought you were beautiful and you get more beautiful every day."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"It's the pregnancy glow."

"Or it's the fact that you're beautiful."

"I don't know how you can say that when you've seen me with so many different looks."

"Dora." Remus brought his hand up to cup her cheek. "I'd know you anywhere and, no matter what, you'll always be beautiful to me. You have a beautiful heart and soul, a sweet personality, and this incredible sparkle about you. You're beautiful."

"Damn hormones," she mumbled, wiping a tear from her eye.

He smiled. "Merry Christmas, love."

She laid her head on his chest, feeling his heart beat soothingly beneath her cheek. "Merry Christmas."


End file.
